Seat belt retractor and seat belt apparatus including the same

ABSTRACT

To allow a seat belt retractor to be easily assembled and to be made compact while effectively operating a pretensioner and an energy absorbing mechanism. A plurality of balls  20  rotate a ring gear  25  by gas generated in the event of an emergency. Since internal teeth  25   a  are meshed with external teeth  26   a , a pinion  26  is rotated by the rotation of the ring gear  25 , and a spool retracts a seat belt. After pressing the ring gear  25 , the balls  20  separate from the ring gear  25  and are stored in an arc-shaped passage  33 . Since the seat belt is then withdrawn, the pinion  26  and the ring gear  25  rotate in a seat-belt withdrawing direction. In this case, some of the balls  20  in contact with the ring gear  25  are returned by the ring gear  25 . Therefore, the ring gear  25  more smoothly rotates because the influence of the balls  20  is suppressed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention belongs to a technical field of a seat belt retractor including a pretensioner and an energy absorption (EA) mechanism and to a technical field of a vehicle seat belt apparatus.

BACKGROUND ART

For seat belt apparatuses to be mounted in vehicles such as cars, various seat belt retractors including a pretensioner have been developed. In an initial stage of an emergency, such as a vehicle collision, when a deceleration higher than the normal deceleration is applied to the vehicle, a pretensioner rotates a spool of a seat belt retractor in a seat-belt retracting direction by using reaction gas generated by a gas generator, thereby winding a seat belt around the spool. This quickly removes slack from the seat belt and applies tension to the seat belt so as to increase the occupant restraint force.

As an example of a pretensioner of the related art, there is known a pretensioner in which a plurality of balls serving as force transmission members are stored in a pipe. These balls are moved along the interior of the pipe by receiving gas pressure of reaction gas generated by a gas generator in the event of an emergency, and press a plurality of pressed portions of a ring gear or a driving wheel. When the ring gear or the driving wheel is rotated by this press, a spool rotates in a seat-belt retracting direction to retract the seat belt (for example, see PTL 1 and PTL 2).

In the pretensioner described in PTL 1, the balls whose pressing forces are substantially lost after pressing the ring gear separate from the ring gear, and are received in a ball receiving chamber provided in a case of the pretensioner below the ring gear and substantially shaped like a rectangular parallelepiped. However, when the ball receiving chamber substantially shaped like a rectangular parallelepiped is thus provided below the ring gear, the size of the case of the pretensioner increases, and the size of the seat belt retractor increases inevitably.

In the pretensioner described in PTL 2, the balls whose pressing forces are substantially lost after pressing the driving wheel move with the rotation of the driving wheel, and are stored in a case of the pretensioner while being received in recesses provided on the outer periphery of the driving wheel. According to the pretensioner of PTL 2, since all of the balls whose pressing forces are lost are received in the recesses provided on the outer periphery of the driving wheel, the ball receiving chamber substantially shaped like a rectangular parallelepiped as described in PTL 1 is unnecessary. This can make the case of the pretensioner compact.

In addition, PTL 2 describes that the ball receiving chamber is formed by an arc-shaped curved pipe extending above the case of the pretensioner and outside the case and that the balls whose pressing forces are lost are stored in the pipe. Thus, most of the balls whose pressing forces are lost separate from the driving wheel, and are stored in the curved pipe extending outside the case.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

[PTL 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-306148

[PTL 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (Translation of PCT Application) No. 2007-522030

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

In the seat belt retractor, when withdrawal of the seat belt is locked in the above-described event of the emergency, a great tension acts on the seat belt because of the inertia of the occupant. As a reaction force of the tension of the seat belt, a great force is applied from the seat belt to the occupant. To limit (suppress) this force from the seat belt to the occupant, many known seat belt retractors include an energy absorption (EA) mechanism. As an EA member of the EA mechanism, for example, a torsion bar is often used. When the seat belt is almost withdrawn by the inertia of the occupant, the torsion bar is subjected to torsional deformation, absorbs the kinetic energy of the occupant, and limits the force applied from the seat belt to the occupant.

In contrast, there is an increasing demand for a compact pretensioner. In the seat belt retractor including the pretensioner of PTL 2 in which all balls are received in the recesses in the driving wheel, the pretensioner can be made compact. However, since the above-described EA mechanism is not provided, EA operation cannot be performed. Accordingly, it is conceivable to provide an EA mechanism in the seat belt retractor of PTL 2. However, when the EA mechanism is thus provided, since all balls whose pressing forces are lost are received in the recesses on the outer periphery of the driving wheel, if the driving wheel is rotated in the seat-belt withdrawing direction by the EA operation, all the balls are returned. For this reason, the driving wheel receives resistance from the balls in the recesses during rotation in the seat-belt withdrawing direction. That is, smooth rotation of the driving wheel is difficult because of the influence of the balls in the recesses. Therefore, when all the balls whose pressing forces are lost are received in the recesses on the outer periphery of the driving wheel, effective operation of the EA mechanism is difficult.

When the EA mechanism is provided in the seat belt retractor of PTL 2 including the pretensioner in which the ball receiving chamber is formed by the pipe curved outside the case of the pretensioner, since most of the balls whose pressing forces are lost separate from the driving wheel and are received in the pipe, only some of the balls are returned when the driving wheel is rotated in the seat-belt withdrawing direction by the EA operation. For this reason, the resistance received by the driving wheel during rotation in the seat-belt withdrawing direction is low. That is, the influence of the balls in the pipe on the driving wheel is suppressed. However, in this case, since the pipe that forms the ball receiving chamber extends outside the case of the pretensioner, the sizes of the pretensioner and the seat belt retractor increase. Further, since the pipe is relatively expensive, the pretensioner is also expensive. Moreover, not only it is difficult to perform piping, but also the number of components increases. This makes the assembly operation troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and an object of the invention is to provide a more compact and inexpensive seat belt retractor that effectively operates a pretensioner using a plurality of force transmission members and an energy absorption mechanism and that facilitates assembling workability, and a seat belt apparatus including the seat belt retractor.

Solution to Problem

In order to solve the above-described problems, a seat belt retractor according to the present invention includes at least a seat belt; a spool that retracts the seat belt; a locking member that corotates with the spool in a normal state and that is inhibited from rotating in a seat-belt withdrawing direction in the event of an emergency so as to produce relative rotation with respect to the spool; a lock mechanism that locks the rotation of the locking member in the seat-belt withdrawing direction in the event of the emergency; an energy absorption mechanism that is provided between the spool and the locking member and that limits a load applied to the seat belt during the relative rotation between the spool and the locking member; and a pretensioner that operates in the event of the emergency so as to rotate the spool in a seat-belt retracting direction. The pretensioner includes at least a case, a pipe attached to the case, a predetermined number of force transmission members that are movably provided in the pipe and that transmit a force for rotating the spool in the seat-belt retracting direction, a gas generator that generates gas in the event of the emergency, a piston that is movably provided in the pipe and that is moved by pressure of the gas so as to push the force transmission members, a ring gear that is at least rotatably provided in the case and that has a plurality of internal teeth on an inner periphery and a plurality of pressed portions on an outer periphery, the pressed portions being pressed by the force transmission members, a pinion that is provided at a spool side member in the case, that has external teeth to be meshed with the internal teeth of the ring gear, and that rotates the spool, and an arc-shaped passage in which the force transmission members are movable after pressing the pressed portions of the ring gear, the arc-shaped passage being provided in the case so that the ring gear does not enter the arc-shaped passage.

In the seat belt retractor of the present invention, the arc-shaped passage is shaped like an arc of a circle that is substantially concentric with a rotation center of the ring gear whose internal teeth are meshed with the external teeth of the pinion, or an arc of a circle that is substantially concentric with a rotation center of the pinion.

Further, in the seat belt retractor of the present invention, the piston includes an exhaust passage that allows a side of the piston close to the gas generator to communicate with a side of the piston close to the force transmission members.

A seat belt apparatus according to the present invention includes at least a seat belt retractor that retracts a seat belt; a tongue slidably supported by the seat belt withdrawn from the seat belt retractor; and a buckle by which the tongue is disengageably retained, the buckle being provided in a vehicle body. The seat belt retractor is any one of the above-described seat belt retractors of the present invention.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the seat belt retractor of the present invention having this configuration, the force transmission members whose pressing forces are lost after pressing the pressed portions of the ring gear are stored in the arc-shaped passage provided in the case of the pretensioner. In this case, since the arc-shaped passage is such that the ring gear does not enter therein, the force transmission members located in the arc-shaped passage can be separated from the ring gear. Therefore, the ring gear can be rotated in the seat-belt retracting direction without any influence of the force transmission members in the arc-shaped passage during the operation of the pretensioner. This allows the pressing force applied from the force transmission members to the pressed portions of the ring gear to be efficiently utilized for rotating the ring gear in the seat-belt retracting direction.

In contrast, during the energy absorption operation of the energy absorption mechanism, only some of the force transmission members are returned toward the gas generator by the ring gear, but the force transmission members in the arc-shaped passage are not returned by the ring gear. Therefore, during the energy absorption operation, the ring gear can also be rotated in the seat-belt withdrawing direction with little influence of the force transmission members in the arc-shaped passage, similarly to the above. This allows smooth rotation of the ring gear, and allows the energy absorption mechanism to more effectively perform the energy absorption operation.

The arc-shaped passage is provided in the case of the pretensioner, and the ball receiving chamber is not formed by the pipe extending outside the case, unlike the pretensioner of PTL 1. Hence, the pretensioner and the seat belt retractor can be made compact. Further, since a relatively expensive pipe is unnecessary, the number of components can be reduced, and the cost of the pretensioner can be reduced. Moreover, it is unnecessary to perform piping and this enhances assembling workability.

Even when the pretensioner using a plurality of force transmission members and the energy absorption mechanism are thus combined, it is possible to realize a more compact and inexpensive seat belt retractor that effectively operates the energy absorption mechanism and that enhances the assembling workability.

In particular, the arc-shaped passage is shaped like an arc of a circle that is substantially concentric with the rotation center of the ring gear whose internal teeth are meshed with the external teeth of the pinion, or an arc of a circle that is substantially concentric with the rotation center of the pinion. With this, it is possible to efficiently form the arc-shaped passage in the case of the pretensioner and to thereby make the pretensioner compact.

Since the piston is also returned toward the gas generator together with some of the force transmission members by the ring gear in the energy absorption operation, the pressure in the pipe on the gas generator side of the piston increases. Accordingly, the piston for pushing the force transmission members is provided with the exhaust passage that allows the gas generator side of the piston to communicate with the force transmission member side in the seat belt retractor of the present invention. Hence, gas in the pipe on the gas generator side can flow toward the force transmission member side of the piston through the exhaust passage. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the resistance of the gas to the return of the piston. This allows smoother movement of the piston and smoother rotation of the ring gear in the seat-belt withdrawing direction. As a result, the energy absorption operation of the energy absorption mechanism can become more effective.

In contrast, according to the seat belt apparatus including the seat belt retractor of the present invention, the seat belt retractor can effectively operate the pretensioner and the energy absorption mechanism, and can be made compact. Hence, the installation space of the seat belt retractor in the vehicle body can be reduced, and the occupant restraint performance of the seat belt apparatus can be enhanced effectively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically shows a seat belt apparatus including a seat belt retractor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2( a) is a left side view of the seat belt retractor of the embodiment, and FIG. 2( b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIB-IIB in FIG. 2( a).

FIG. 3 illustrates a pretensioner of the seat belt retractor of FIG. 2( a) from which a cover, balls, and a spring means are removed.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a pipe and a guide member in the pretensioner of the embodiment.

FIG. 5( a) is a partial cross-sectional view of a gas generator, a piston, and the balls in the pretensioner of the embodiment, FIG. 5( b) is a front view of the piston, FIG. 5( c) is a right side view of the piston, FIG. 5( d) is an explanatory view of the piston during operation of the pretensioner, FIG. 5( e) is a front view of a different example of a piston, and FIG. 5( f) is a right side view of the different example of the piston.

FIG. 6 illustrates an inner side of the cover in the pretensioner of the embodiment.

FIGS. 7( a), 7(b), and 7(c) illustrate the operation of the pretensioner, FIG. 7( a) illustrates a non-operation state, FIG. 7( b) illustrates a state immediately after the operation starts, and FIG. 7( c) illustrates a state after the operation is completed.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a seat belt apparatus including a seat belt retractor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a seat belt apparatus 1 of the embodiment is basically the same as a known three-point seat belt apparatus. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes the seat belt apparatus, numeral 2 denotes a vehicle seat, numeral 3 denotes a seat belt retractor provided near the vehicle seat 2, numeral 4 denotes a seat belt that is withdrawn and retracted by the seat belt retractor 3 and that has a belt anchor 4 a provided at a leading end thereof and fixed to the floor of the vehicle body or the vehicle seat 2, numeral 5 denotes a guide anchor that guides the seat belt 4, which is withdrawn from the seat belt retractor 3, toward the shoulder of an occupant, numeral 6 denotes a tongue slidably supported by the seat belt 4 guided from the guide anchor 5, and numeral 7 denotes a buckle which is fixed to the floor of the vehicle body or the vehicle seat in a manner such that the tongue 6 is disengageably inserted in and engaged with the buckle 7.

Operations of buckling and unbuckling the seat belt 4 in the seat belt apparatus 1 are also the same as those adopted in the known seat belt apparatus.

The seat belt retractor 3 of the embodiment is formed as a known emergency locking seat belt retractor (ELR) or a known automatic locking seat belt retractor (ALR). This seat belt retractor 3 includes a pretensioner and an energy absorption (EA) mechanism.

FIGS. 2( a) and 2(b) illustrate the seat belt retractor of the embodiment including the pretensioner and the EA mechanism.

For example, the seat belt retractor 3 of the embodiment is basically the same as the above-described known seat belt retractor including the pretensioner and the EA mechanism that is described in PTL 1. Therefore, first, a brief description will be given of the same structures and operations as those adopted in the seat belt retractor described in PTL 1.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2( a) and 2(b), the seat belt retractor 3 includes an angular U-shaped frame 8 having both side walls 8 a and 8 b, a spool 9 that retracts the seat belt 4, a torsion bar 10 of the EA mechanism, a locking base 11 serving as the locking member of the present invention, a lock mechanism 12, a deceleration detecting mechanism 13, a cylindrical connecting member 14, a pretensioner 15 using a predetermined number of (a plurality of) balls, and a spring means 16 that always biases the spool 9 in a seat-belt retracting direction. While the spool 9 and the connecting member 14 are separately provided in the seat belt retractor 3 of the embodiment, the spool 9 and the connecting member 14 are integrally provided in PTL 1.

In a normal state in which the deceleration detecting mechanism 13 and the pretensioner 15 do not operate, when the seat belt 4 is withdrawn, the spool 9 rotates in a seat-belt withdrawing direction, so that the seat belt 4 is withdrawn. Since the deceleration detecting mechanism 13 does not operate in this normal withdrawal of the seat belt 4, the lock mechanism 12 does not operate, and the spool 9 rotates together with the connecting member 14, the torsion bar 10, and the locking base 11. Therefore, the seat belt 4 is withdrawn easily.

When the hand is released from the seat belt 4 after withdrawing the seat belt 4, the spool 9 is rotated in the seat-belt retracting direction by biasing force of the spring means 16 transmitted via the connecting member 14. Then, the spool 9 retracts all or almost all of the withdrawn portion of the seat belt 4. During this normal retraction of the seat belt 4, the spool 9 rotates together with the connecting member 14, the torsion bar 10, and the locking base 11. Therefore, the seat belt 4 is retracted easily.

If a deceleration such as to start the deceleration detecting mechanism 13 is applied to the vehicle during running, the deceleration detecting mechanism 13 starts and the lock mechanism 12 also starts. Then, an unillustrated pawl provided in the locking base 11 turns into engagement with unillustrated lock teeth provided on the side wall 8 a. This locks the rotation of the locking base 11 in the seat-belt withdrawing direction. On the other hand, the seat belt 4 is almost withdrawn by the inertia of the occupant, and the spool 9 almost rotates relative to the locking base 11 in the seat-belt withdrawing direction. As a result, the torsion bar is twisted. The resistance due to torsional deformation of the torsion bar suppresses the rotation of the spool 9 in the seat-belt withdrawing direction. In this way, the occupant is restrained by the seat belt 4. In this case, the kinetic energy of the occupant is partially absorbed by the torsional deformation of the torsion bar, and therefore, the force applied from the seat belt 4 to the occupant is limited.

Since other basic structures and other basic operations of the seat belt retractor 3 of the embodiment can be easily understood by reference to the description of PTL 1, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

Next, a description will be given of a characteristic structure of the seat belt retractor 3 of the embodiment, that is, the pretensioner 15 of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates the pretensioner of the seat belt retractor in FIG. 2( a), from which a cover, the balls, and the spring means are removed, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a pipe and a guide member in the pretensioner of the embodiment.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pretensioner 15 includes a pipe 17, and one end portion 17 a of the pipe 17 is open. In the end portion 17 a, a cutout portion 17 b extending from the open end of the pipe 17 in the axial direction of the pipe 17 and a mounting flange portion 17 c are provided. The end portion 17 a of the pipe 17 is attached to a guide member 18. In this case, the mounting flange portion 17 c is fitted in a mounting groove 18 a provided in the guide member 18, and is retained by a retaining portion 18 b provided in the guide member 18. Further, in a state in which the end portion 17 a of the pipe 17 is attached to the guide member 18 and the guide member 18 is attached to the side wall 8 b of the frame with a case base 22 being disposed therebetween, one part of the mounting flange portion 17 c is retained in an upward orientation by an upper edge 8 of a rectangular small aperture provided in the side wall 8 b, and the other part of the mounting flange portion 17 c is retained in an upward orientation by the retaining portion 18 b of the guide member 18. This prevents the pipe 17 from coming out of the guide member 18 in the upward direction.

The guide member 18 has a guide face 18 c. This guide face 18 c includes a linear guide face portion 18 d and a guide face portion 18 e that is provided in contact with the linear guide face portion 18 d and that is shaped like an arc of a circle concentric or substantially concentric with the rotation axis of the spool 9. As illustrated in FIG. 3, in a state in which the end portion 17 a of the pipe 17 is attached to the guide member 18, the linear guide face portion 18 d is located on an extension line of an inner peripheral face 17 d of the pipe 17 serving as a cross section taken along a plane in the axial direction passing through the radial center of the pipe 17.

As illustrated in FIG. 5( a), a gas generator 19 for generating reaction gas is provided in the other end portion 17 e of the pipe 17. Also, a predetermined number of balls 20 serving as the force transmission members of the present invention and formed of metal such as iron or aluminum, and a piston 21 for pushing the balls 20 by receiving gas pressure from the gas generator 19 are movably provided in the pipe 17. The piston 21 includes a piston body 21 a formed of metal similarly to the balls 20, and a piston ring 21 b formed of a nonmetallic material such as silicon or resin.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5( b) and 5(c), the piston body 21 a includes a columnar shaft portion 21 c provided on a gas generator 19 side, and a substantially hemispherical head portion 21 d provided on a ball 20 side. The shaft portion 21 c and the head portion 21 d are integrally formed, and an exhaust hole 21 e penetrates the shaft portion 21 c and the head portion 21 d in the axial direction. Further, the head portion 21 d has four exhaust grooves 21 f arranged in a cross form a so as to communicate with the exhaust hole 21 e. The width of the exhaust grooves 21 f is set to be the largest at the centers thereof and to gradually decrease from the centers toward the leading ends. These exhaust grooves 21 f prevent the exhaust hole 21 e from being closed by the ball 20 in a state in which the head portion 21 d of the piston body 21 a is in contact with the ball 20. Therefore, even in the state in which the head portion 21 d of the piston body 21 a is in contact with the ball 20, the exhaust hole 21 e and the exhaust grooves 21 f allow the gas generator 19 side and the ball 20 side of the piston 21 to always communicate with each other. The exhaust hole 21 e and the exhaust grooves 21 f define the exhaust passage of the present invention.

The piston ring 21 b is cylindrical, and is fitted on the shaft portion 21 c of the piston body 21 a. The piston ring 21 b is provided slidably on an inner peripheral face of the pipe 17 so as to hermetically or substantially hermetically seal the space between an outer peripheral face of the shaft portion 21 c and the inner peripheral face of the pipe 17.

Gas generated by the gas generator 19 pushes the piston 21 to the right in FIG. 5( d). The piston 21 thereby pushes the balls 20 in the same direction. Further, as shown by arrow α in FIG. 5( d), the gas from the gas generator 19 can flow by a predetermined amount from the gas generator 19 side to the ball side of the piston 21 through the exhaust hole 21 e and the exhaust grooves 21 f. In this case, even in a state in which the head portion 21 d of the piston body 21 a is in contact with the ball 20, the gas can flow to the ball 20 side of the piston 21 through the exhaust grooves 21 f.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5( e) and 5(f), the exhaust grooves 21 f can be formed with a fixed width. Further, the number of exhaust grooves 21 f of the piston 21 is not limited to four, and an arbitrary number of exhaust grooves 21 f can be provided. When a plurality of exhaust grooves 21 f are provided, it is preferable that the exhaust grooves 21 f be equally spaced in the circumferential direction.

The pretensioner 15 includes the case base 22, and the case base 22 is attached to the side wall 8 b. The guide member 18 is similarly attached to the side wall 8 b of the frame 8 with the case base 22 being disposed therebetween. Further, the case base 22 and the guide member 18 are covered with a cover 23. The case base 22, the guide member 18, and the cover 23 define a case 24 of the pretensioner 15 having an inner space 24 a.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2( b) and 3, in the inner space 24 a of the case 24, a ring gear 25 is provided rotatably and movably to the right in FIG. 3 (FIG. 3 illustrates a state after the ring gear 25 is moved to the right). The ring gear 25 has a plurality of internal teeth 25 a on an inner peripheral surface thereof.

A plurality of (seven in the illustrated example) levers 25 b serving as the pressed portions of the present invention project from an outer peripheral surface of the ring gear 25. In a normal state in which the pretensioner 15 does not operate, the interval in the circumferential direction between the lever 25 b that the first ball 20 first contacts and the lever 25 b adjacent thereto in the clockwise direction is set such that part of one ball 20 can be received therebetween. Further, another interval in the circumferential direction between two adjacent levers 25 b is set such that two balls 20 in contact with each other can be received in order therebetween. The levers 25 b of the ring gear 25 can enter the pipe 17 from the cutout portion 17 b at the end portion 17 a of the pipe 17.

An annular pinion 26 is attached to the connecting member 14 of the seat belt retractor 3 so as to corotate with the connecting member 14 (although not illustrated, the spool 9 and the connecting member 14 can be integrally formed and the pinion 26 can be formed integrally with the connecting member 14).

The pinion 26 has a plurality of external teeth 26 a. The internal teeth 25 a of the ring gear 25 can be meshed with the external teeth 26 a of the pinion 26. During operation of the pretensioner 15, the balls 20 apply pressing force for the ring gear 25 to the levers 25 b that have entered the pipe 17 from the cutout portion 17 b of the pipe 17, and apply, to the ring gear 25, a force such that the ring gear 25 moves straight toward the pinion 26.

In the pretensioner 15 of the embodiment, the pipe 17 is piped such that an end of the end portion 17 a is located at the lowermost position in FIG. 3 in a state in which the pretensioner 15 is mounted in the vehicle body. In this case, the position of the end of the end portion 17 a is somewhat higher than the rotation center of the pinion 26 (that is, the rotation center of the spool 9). With this, the balls 20 transmit the force to the levers 25 b of the ring gear 25 almost in the tangential direction of the ring gear 25 and in the seat-belt retracting direction. As a result, the balls 20 most efficiently transmit the force to the ring gear 25.

In addition, the pipe 17 is bent at a substantially right angle above the frame 8, linearly and substantially horizontally extends toward the cabin outer side, is bent at a substantially right angle near a free end of the side wall 8 b, linearly and substantially horizontally extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, is bent at a substantially right angle near the side wall 8 a, and linearly and substantially horizontally extends toward the cabin inner side. Therefore, the gas generator 19 substantially horizontally extends toward the cabin inner side above a fixed end of the side wall 8 a of the frame 8.

The case base 22 is provided with a case-base-side guide groove 27 that guides the balls 20. In this case, the case-base-side guide groove 27 is substantially shaped like an arc of a circle that is substantially concentric with the center of the ring gear 25 in the state of FIG. 3 in which the ring gear 25 is moved to the right and the internal teeth 25 a are meshed with the external teeth 26 a of the pinion 26. The case-base-side guide groove 27 is provided on an outer side of ends of the levers 25 b of the ring gear 25 located at the position in FIG. 3. Therefore, the levers 25 b do not enter the case-base-side guide groove 27. This case-base-side guide groove 27 is defined by a case-base outer peripheral guide wall 28 and a case-base inner peripheral guide wall 29 that form a pair. These outer and inner peripheral guide walls 28 and 29 are substantially shaped like an arc of a circle that is substantially concentric with the rotation center of the pinion 26.

Further, a case-base-side groove guide portion 29 a that guides the balls 20 to the case-base-side guide groove 27 is provided at an upstream end of the case-base inner peripheral guide wall 29 along which the balls 20 move. The case-base-side groove guide portion 29 a is formed as an inclined surface that is inclined inward from the tangent to the arc at the upstream end of the case-base inner peripheral guide wall 29. In the case base 22, a case-base-side ball guide groove 27 a that guides the balls 20 to the case-base-side guide groove 27 is formed by the case-base-side groove guide portion 29 a.

The cover 23 is provided with a cover-side guide groove 30 that guides the balls 20. The cover-side guide groove 30 is defined by a cover outer peripheral guide wall 31 and a cover inner peripheral guide wall 32 that form a pair. In this case, the cover outer peripheral guide wall 31 is shaped like an arc of a circle that has almost the same diameter as that of the arc-shaped case-base outer peripheral guide wall 28 and that is concentric with the case-base outer peripheral guide wall 28, and the circumferential length of the cover outer peripheral guide wall 31 is set to be equal or substantially equal to the circumferential length of the case-base outer peripheral guide wall 28. Further, the cover inner peripheral guide wall 32 is shaped like an arc of a circle that has almost the same diameter as that of the arc-shaped case-base inner peripheral guide wall 29 and that is concentric with the case-base inner peripheral guide wall 29, and the circumferential length of the cover inner peripheral guide wall 32 is set to be equal or substantially equal to the circumferential length of the case-base inner peripheral guide wall 29.

In addition, a cover-side groove guide portion 32 a that guides the balls 20 to the cover-side guide groove 30 is provided at an upstream end of the cover inner peripheral guide wall 32 along which the balls 20 move. This cover-side groove guide portion 32 a is formed as an inclined face that is inclined inward from the tangent to the arc at the upstream end of the cover inner peripheral guide wall 32. In this case, the inclination angle of the cover-side groove guide portion 32 a with respect to the tangent to the arc and the length of the cover-side groove guide portion 32 a are set to be equal or substantially equal to the inclination angle of the case-base-side groove guide portion 29 a with respect to the tangent to the arc and the length of the case-base-side groove guide portion 29 a, respectively. In the cover 23, a cover-side ball guide groove 30 a that guides the balls 20 to the cover-side guide groove 30 is formed by the cover-side groove guide portion 32 a.

In a state in which the cover 23 is attached to and combined with the case base 22, the case-base outer peripheral guide wall 28 and the cover outer peripheral guide wall 31 are almost aligned, and the case-base inner peripheral guide wall 29 and the cover inner peripheral guide wall 32 are almost aligned, so that the case-base-side guide groove 27 and the cover-side guide groove 30 define an arc-shaped passage 33 through which the balls 20 move. Further, the case-base-side groove guide portion 29 a and the cover-side ball guide groove 30 a are almost aligned, so that the case-base-side groove guide portion 29 a and the cover-side ball guide groove 30 a define a guide passage 34 through which the balls 20 are guided to the above-described arc-shaped passage 33 after the balls 20 come out of the pipe 17 and rotate the ring gear 25.

In the pretensioner 15 of the embodiment, the arc-shaped passage 33, the guide passage 34, and a guide passage 35 provided between the guide face 18 c of the guide member 18 and the ring gear 25 define a substantially arc-shaped ball receiving chamber along the outer periphery of the ring gear 25. In this case, the levers 25 b of the ring gear 25 do not enter a portion of the ball receiving chamber defined by the arc-shaped passage 33 and the guide passage 34. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the guide member 18 has a stopper portion 18 f, and the stopper portion 18 f almost closes a downstream end of the arc-shaped passage 33. Further, a small ball receiving portion 36 that receives the balls 20 is provided below a portion of the guide passage 35 adjacent to the guide passage 34 in a manner such that the levers 25 b of the ring gear 25 do not contact the balls 20. All of the arc-shaped passage 33, the guide passage 34, the guide passage 35, and the ball receiving portion 36 are provided in the case 24.

Operation of the seat belt retractor 3 of the embodiment having such a configuration will be described.

In the seat belt retractor 3 of the embodiment, the pretensioner 15 and the torsion bar 10 basically operate in the same manner as that of the pretensioner of the related art using a plurality of balls described in PTL 1 until the seat belt retractor 3 starts in the event of an emergency, such as a vehicle collision, when a great deceleration is applied to the vehicle and the spool 9 of the seat belt retractor 3 is rotated in the seat-belt retracting direction. Also, the EA operation of the torsion bar 10 is the same as the EA operation of the torsion bar of the related art.

As illustrated in FIG. 7( a), when the pretensioner 15 is in a non-operation state, the ring gear 25 is held substantially concentric with the pinion 26 so as not to rotate and move to the right, similarly to the pretensioner described in PTL 1. Therefore, the ring gear 25 is held in a state in which the internal teeth 25 a are not meshed with the external teeth 26 a of the pinion 26. Also, the first ball 20 is held in contact with one lever 25 b. In this case, the first ball 20 can enter a small gap between the adjacent levers 25 b. Further, the adjacent balls 20 of the first ball 20 and subsequent balls 20 are in contact with each other in the pipe 17. At this time, the gas generator 19 does not generate gas, and the balls 20 do substantially not press the levers 25 b.

In the above-described event of the emergency, the deceleration detecting mechanism 13 and the lock mechanism 12 operate to lock the rotation of the locking base 11 in the seat-belt withdrawing direction, and the gas generator 19 operates to generate gas, in a manner similar to that adopted in the related art. Since the generated gas pushes the piston 21, the piston 21 applies a great push force to the ball 20 in contact therewith. The push force of the piston 21 is transmitted from above to bottom via the balls 20 to the first ball 20 in contact with the ring gear 25. Then, the first ball 20 moves the ring gear 25 to the right and rotates the ring gear 25 counterclockwise in FIG. 2( a) by the push force. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 7( b), the internal teeth 25 a of the ring gear 25 mesh with the external teeth 26 a of the pinion 26, and the pinion 26 starts to rotate in the same direction as that of the ring gear 25. In response to the start of rotation of the pinion 26, the spool 9 starts to be rotated in the seat-belt retracting direction via the pinion 26 and the connecting member 14, and retraction of the seat belt 4 worn by the occupant starts. In this case, the ring gear 25 is pushed down by the balls 20, whereby the ring gear 25 is pushed below the spool 9 via the pinion 26. In this case, since the spool 9 is pulled upward by the seat belt 4, the rotational resistance provided when the ring gear 25 rotates the pinion 26 and the spool 9 is relatively low.

When the first ball 20 is received in the small gap between the levers 25 b and the next second ball 20 comes into contact with the lever 25 b adjacent clockwise to the lever 25 b that was in contact with the first ball 20, the pressing force applied to the lever 25 b via the second ball 20 further rotates both the ring gear 25 and the pinion 26 counterclockwise. In this case, the pressing force applied from the first ball 20 to the lever 25 b is substantially lost. Two balls, that is, the second and third balls 20 are received between the lever 25 b that was in contact with the second ball 20 and the next lever 25 b adjacent to that lever 25 b in the clockwise direction while pressing the lever 25 b. Further, when the fourth ball 20 next to the third ball 20 comes into contact with the next lever 25 b, the pressing force applied to the next lever 25 b via the fourth ball 20 further rotates both the ring gear 25 and the pinion 26 counterclockwise. In this case, the pressing force applied from the second and third balls 20 to the lever 25 b is substantially lost. Subsequently, the balls 20 sequentially press the levers 25 b, so that the ring gear 25 and the pinion 26 rotate counterclockwise. That is, the spool 9 rotates in the seat-belt retracting direction, and the seat belt 4 is wound around the spool 9.

As illustrated in FIG. 7( b), the first ball 20 whose pressing force to the lever 25 b is substantially lost is moved along the guide passage 35 by the lever 25 b with the rotation of the ring gear 25. As illustrated in FIG. 7( c), the first ball 20 enters the guide passage 34, separates from the lever 25 b, and moves into the arc-shaped passage 33 along the guide passage 34. Similarly, the second and subsequent balls 20 whose pressing forces to the levers 25 b are substantially lost sequentially move to the arc-shaped passage 33 along the guide passage 34. While moving through the guide passage 34 and the arc-shaped passage 33, the balls 20 do not contact the levers 25 b of the ring gear 25. In other words, the rotation of the ring gear 25 is not influenced by the balls 20 located in the guide passage 34 and the arc-shaped passage 33, and the pressing forces from the balls 20 to the levers 25 b are efficiently utilized for rotating the ring gear 25.

As shown by arrow α in FIG. 5( d), part of the gas generated by the gas generator 19 flows to the ball 20 side of the piston 21 through the exhaust hole 21 e and the exhaust grooves 21 f of the piston 21. This suppresses an excessive increase in pressure at the gas generator 19 side of the piston 21.

When the first ball 20 comes into contact with the stopper portion 18 f or when the tension of the seat belt 4 for rotating the spool 9 in the seat-belt withdrawing direction becomes equal to the force of the balls 20 for rotating the spool 9 in the seat-belt retracting direction, the movement of the balls 20 stops, so that the rotations of the ring gear 25 and the pinion 26 stop and the operation of the pretensioner 15 stops. Therefore, winding of the seat belt 4 around the spool 9 by the operation of the pretensioner 15 is finished. As a result, the occupant is more firmly restrained by the seat belt 4.

Subsequently, the seat belt 4 is almost withdrawn by the inertia of the occupant, and the spool 9 is almost rotated in the seat-belt withdrawing direction. In this case, since the rotation of the locking base 11 in the seat-belt withdrawing direction is locked, the torsion bar 10 is subjected to torsional deformation. Since the spool 9 is rotated in the seat-belt withdrawing direction by the torsional deformation of the torsion bar 10, the force applied from the seat belt 4 to the occupant is limited. That is, the torsion bar 10 performs EA operation.

During EA operation of the torsion bar 10, the spool 9 rotates in the seat-belt withdrawing direction, and therefore, the ring gear 25 rotates in the same direction. Then, in FIG. 7( c), three balls 20 at the terminal end are returned toward the pipe 17 by the corresponding levers 25 b of the ring gear 25 with the rotation of the ring gear 25. However, the balls 20 from the fourth ball 20 from the terminal end to the ball 20 at the leading end (first ball 20 side) do not touch the levers 25 b of the ring gear 25, and therefore, are not returned to the pipe 17. In this case, the fourth ball 20 from the terminal end is received in the ball receiving portion 36, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 7( c). The balls 20 closer to the leading end than the fourth ball 20 are unable to move to the pipe 17 because the fifth ball 20 adjacent to the fourth ball 20 and closer to the leading end comes into contact with the fourth ball 20, whereby backward movement of these balls 20 is prevented. That is, during the EA operation, some of the balls 20, that is, the three balls 20 at the terminal end are returned by the ring gear 25. Therefore, the influence of the balls 20 on the rotation of the ring gear 25 in the seat-belt withdrawing direction is suppressed. Since the influence of the balls 20 on the rotation of the ring gear 25 in the seat-belt withdrawing direction is thus suppressed during EA operation of the torsion bar 10, the ring gear 25 rotates more smoothly. As a result, the EA operation is effectively performed by the torsion bar 10.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 7( c), the piston 21 is also returned toward the gas generator 19 by the balls 20 that move toward the pipe 17. While the pressure in the pipe 17 on the gas generator 19 side of the piston 21 is increased by this movement of the piston 21, the gas in the pipe 17 on the gas generator 19 side flows to the ball 20 side of the piston 21 through the exhaust hole 21 e and the exhaust grooves 21 f of the piston 21, as shown by arrow α in FIG. 5( d). This suppresses the resistance of the gas to the movement of the piston 21. Since this allows more smooth movement of the piston 21, the ring gear 25 is also more smoothly rotated in the seat-belt withdrawing direction. Therefore, the EA operation of the torsion bar 10 becomes more effective.

According to the seat belt retractor of the embodiment, the ball receiving chamber in which the balls 20 whose pressing forces are lost after pressing the levers 25 b of the ring gear 25 are stored is defined by the arc-shaped passage 33, the guide passage 34, and the guide passage 35. In this case, the arc-shaped passage 33 is shaped like an arc of a circle that is substantially concentric with the rotation center of the ring gear 25 whose internal teeth 25 a are meshed with the external teeth 26 a of the pinion 26. The ball receiving chamber is provided in the case 24 and is shaped like an arc of a circle that is substantially concentric with the rotation center of the ring gear 25 whose internal teeth 25 a are meshed with the external teeth 26 a of the pinion 26. Further, the arc-shaped passage 33 and the guide passage 34 are located such that the levers 25 b of the ring gear 25 do not enter therein. Therefore, during the operation of the pretensioner 15, the ring gear 25 can be rotated in the seat-belt retracting direction without any influence of the balls 20 in the guide passage 34 and the arc-shaped passage 33. This allows the pressing force from the balls 20 to the levers 25 b to be efficiently utilized for rotating the ring gear 25.

In contrast, the ring gear 25 can also be rotated in the seat-belt withdrawing direction without any influence of the balls 20 in the guide passage 34 and the arc-shaped passage 33 in the EA operation of the torsion bar 10. This allows smooth rotation of the ring gear 25 and more effective EA operation of the torsion bar 10.

In addition, since the piston 21 is also returned together with the balls 20 by the EA operation, the pressure in the pipe 17 on the gas generator 19 side of the piston 21 increases. However, the piston 21 is provided with the exhaust hole 21 e and the exhaust grooves 21 f, the gas in the pipe 17 on the gas generator 19 side can flow toward the ball 20 side of the piston 21 through the exhaust hole 21 e and the exhaust grooves 21 f. Therefore, the resistance of the gas to the return of the piston 21 can be suppressed. This allows more smooth movement of the piston 21, and also allows more smooth rotation of the ring gear 25 in the seat-belt withdrawing direction. As a result, the EA operation can be even more effectively performed by the torsion bar 10.

Further, the arc-shaped ball receiving chamber is provided in the case 24, and the ball receiving chamber is not formed by the pipe extending outside the case, unlike the pretensioner of PTL 1. Hence, the pretensioner 15 and the seat belt retractor 3 can be made compact. In addition, since a relatively expensive pipe is unnecessary, the number of components can be reduced, and the cost of the pretensioner 15 can be reduced. Moreover, it is unnecessary to perform piping, and assembling workability is enhanced. Even when the pretensioner 15 using a plurality of balls 20 and the torsion bar 10 serving as the energy absorption mechanism are thus combined, the EA mechanism with the torsion bar 10 can be effectively operated, and assembling workability of the seat belt retractor 3 can be enhanced.

In addition, according to the seat belt apparatus 1 including the seat belt retractor 3 of the embodiment, since the seat belt retractor 3 can effectively operate the pretensioner 15 and the torsion bar 10 serving as the energy absorption mechanism and can be made compact, the occupant restraint performance of the seat belt apparatus 1 can be enhanced effectively.

The seat belt retractor of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and design variations are possible. For example, while the arc-shaped passage 33 is shaped like an arc of a circle that is substantially concentric with the rotation center of the ring gear 25 whose internal teeth 25 a are meshed with the external teeth 26 a of the pinion 26 in the above-described embodiment, the arc-shaped passage 33 can be shaped like an arc of a circle that is substantially concentric with the rotation center of the pinion 26 (that is, the rotation center of the spool 9). In this case, the levers 25 b of the ring gear 25 are inhibited from entering the arc-shaped passage 33. Other design variations are possible within the scope of the matters described in the claims of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The seat belt retractor and the seat belt apparatus of the present invention can be suitably used in a seat belt retractor including a pretensioner using a plurality of force transmission members, such as balls, and an EA mechanism, and a vehicle seat belt apparatus including this seat belt retractor.

The priority application, Japanese Patent Application No. 2009/283843, filed Dec. 15, 2009 including the specification, drawings, claims and abstract, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   1: seat belt apparatus     -   3: seat belt retractor     -   4: seat belt     -   6: tongue     -   7: buckle     -   8: frame     -   9: spool     -   10: torsion bar (energy absorption (EA) mechanism)     -   11: locking base     -   12: lock mechanism     -   13: deceleration detection mechanism     -   14: connecting member     -   15: pretensioner     -   17: pipe     -   18: guide member     -   18 c: guide face     -   19: gas generator     -   20: ball     -   21: piston     -   21 a: piston body     -   21 b: piston ring     -   21 e: exhaust hole     -   21 f: exhaust groove     -   22: case base     -   23: cover     -   24: case     -   25: ring gear     -   25 a: internal tooth     -   25 b: lever     -   26: pinion     -   26 a: external tooth     -   27: case-base-side guide groove     -   27 a: case-base-side ball guide groove     -   28: case-base outer peripheral guide wall     -   29: case-base inner peripheral guide wall     -   29 a: case-base-side groove guide portion     -   30: cover-side guide groove     -   30 a: cover-side ball guide groove     -   31: cover outer peripheral guide wall     -   32: cover inner peripheral guide wall     -   32 a: cover-side groove guide portion     -   33: arc-shaped passage     -   34: guide passage     -   35: guide passage     -   36: ball receiving portion 

1. A seat belt retractor comprising at least: a seat belt; a spool that retracts the seat belt; a locking member that corotates with the spool in a normal state and that is inhibited from rotating in a seat-belt withdrawing direction in the event of an emergency so as to produce relative rotation with respect to the spool; a lock mechanism that locks the rotation of the locking member in the seat-belt withdrawing direction in the event of the emergency; an energy absorption mechanism that is provided between the spool and the locking member and that limits a load applied to the seat belt during the relative rotation between the spool and the locking member; and a pretensioner that operates in the event of the emergency so as to rotate the spool in a seat-belt retracting direction, wherein the pretensioner includes at least a case, a pipe attached to the case, a predetermined number of force transmission members that are movably provided in the pipe and that transmit a force for rotating the spool in the seat-belt retracting direction, a gas generator that generates gas in the event of the emergency, a piston that is movably provided in the pipe and that is moved by pressure of the gas so as to push the force transmission members, a ring gear that is at least rotatably provided in the case and that has a plurality of internal teeth on an inner periphery and a plurality of pressed portions on an outer periphery, the pressed portions being pressed by the force transmission members, a pinion that is provided at a spool side member in the case, that has external teeth to be meshed with the internal teeth of the ring gear, and that rotates the spool, and an arc-shaped passage in which the force transmission members are movable after pressing the pressed portions of the ring gear, the arc-shaped passage being provided in the case so that the ring gear does not enter the arc-shaped passage.
 2. The seat belt retractor according to claim 1, wherein the arc-shaped passage is shaped like an arc of a circle that is substantially concentric with a rotation center of the ring gear whose internal teeth are meshed with the external teeth of the pinion, or an arc of a circle that is substantially concentric with a rotation center of the pinion.
 3. The seat belt retractor according to claim 1, wherein the piston includes an exhaust passage that allows a side of the piston close to the gas generator to communicate with a side of the piston close to the force transmission members.
 4. The seat belt retractor according to claim 2, wherein the piston includes an exhaust passage that allows a side of the piston close to the gas generator to communicate with a side of the piston close to the force transmission members.
 5. A seat belt apparatus comprising at least: a seat belt retractor that retracts a seat belt; a tongue slidably supported by the seat belt withdrawn from the seat belt retractor; and a buckle by which the tongue is disengageably retained, the buckle being provided in a vehicle body, wherein the seat belt retractor is the seat belt retractor according to claim
 1. 6. The seat belt apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the arc-shaped passage is shaped like an arc of a circle that is substantially concentric with a rotation center of the ring gear whose internal teeth are meshed with the external teeth of the pinion, or an arc of a circle that is substantially concentric with a rotation center of the pinion.
 7. The seat belt apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the piston includes an exhaust passage that allows a side of the piston close to the gas generator to communicate with a side of the piston close to the force transmission members. 